linnet

Etymology

From Old French linette, from lin (“flax”), from the bird's fondness for the seeds of flax, the source of linen and Old English līnete, līnetwige (“linnet”) (> dialectal English lintwhite).

noun

  1. A small passerine bird, the common linnet (Linaria cannabina, syn. Carduelis cannabina), in the finch family Fringillidae, native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa.
    I heard a linnet courting His lady in the spring […] 1890, Robert Bridges, The Shorter Poems of Robert Bridges, Book I, V
  2. (US) A house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), of North America.

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/linnet), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.